Search
shop

Valencia: The final ITU Triathlon World Cup of 2020

Saturday's Valencia ITU Triathlon World Cup rounds-off World Triathlon's 2020 season. Alistair Brownlee and Beth Potter will be there
Chief Correspondent
Last updated -
STRENGTH. ENDURANCE. PERFORMANCE.

Advertisement

Will it be four from four for Vincent Luis in Valencia?

Alistair Brownlee and Beth Potter in ITU World Cup action again

As well as IRONMAN Florida (full preview HERE), there will be further Pro racing this Saturday in Spain, at the Valencia ITU Triathlon World Cup.

The race will be broadcast live via www.TriathlonLIVE.tv.
ELITE WOMEN: 2:15pm CET / 1:15pm UK
ELITE MEN: 4:45pm CET / 3:45pm UK

Elite Men

For the men, what little there has been of the 2020 draft-legal season has been dominated by Vincent Luis. Winner in Hamburg of the late-notice World Championships (defending that title from 2019), he followed that up by topping the podium and Karlovy Vary and Arzachena and quite honestly, looked brilliant at every step.

Arzachena World Cup

That last race in Sardinia saw the top three filled by three members of the Bahrain Endurance 13 squad – Luis, Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) and Alistair Brownlee – and all will meet again on Saturday. It’s a Sprint distance, pan-flat event this time (very different to that Arzachena course), but Luis in particular seems at home on any terrain right now.

With the partial announcement of the Tokyo Olympic team this week, this will be another chance for Alistair to stake his claim to join them. Despite some technical errors last time out, which I highlighted at the time, Brownlee had clearly stepped up his fitness and form over the draft-legal format in Italy, relative to Hamburg. Eliminating those errors and another few weeks of training could provide more evidence that his route back to an attempt at a third Olympic gold medal is a very realistic one.

Arzachena World Cup

It’s far from a three man field however, with IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Gustav Iden (NOR), the fast-running feet of Jelle Geens (ESP), Commonwealth Champion Henri Schoeman (RSA) and former European Champion, Pierre Le Corre (FRA) all adding what might be considered unusual depth to a late season World Cup event. This however, has been no regular season.

Jelle Geens / ITU World Triathlon Montreal

James Teagle and Chris Perham will both have their first (and last) World Cup start of the season, alongside Alistair Brownlee in the British squad.

Chris Perham - Lievin Triathlon Indoor Festival / Lievin ETU Indoor Triathlon European Cup

Elite Women

Given those names, by comparison, the Elite Women’s field doesn’t feature quite the same depth of World Triathlon Series talent – but in Nicola Spirig (SUI), an Olympic Gold and Silver medallist, you have one of the legends of the sport. With Challenge Daytona ahead of her (she was awarded a wildcard), Spirig will be fit and never races to make up the numbers.

Nicola Spirig wins London 2012

Great Britain’s Beth Potter had what was perhaps her most impressive performance to date when finishing second to Flora Duffy in Sardinia last month. Given her limited cycling background in particular, that she achieved that over a very challenging terrain was a huge step forward in my eyes. With her undoubted pure running ability – she represented Great Britain over 10,000m at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games – she could well be relishing the flat and fast parcours this weekend.

Weert Triathlon European Championships - Beth Potter
Photo: Ceci Frascaroli

Germany’s Lisa Tertsch is familiar with Valencia, winning the U23 European Championship there in 2019. She’s another speedy runner to look out for, particularly if she can limit her losses through the opening 750m in the water, while Verena Steinhauser (ITA) has improved every race this year – Hamburg (10th) / Karlovy Vary (8th) / Arzachena (3rd).

CLICK HERE FOR FULL START LISTS

John Levison
Written by
John Levison
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
Discover more
Challenge The Championship Marjolaine Pieree
How to qualify for Challenge The Championship – and why it should be on your triathlon bucket list
Cadomotus aero triathlon cycling shoes
Can your triathlon cycling shoes make you faster? How shoe choice could speed up your triathlon finish times
French Riviera T100 bike course Esterel
Is this the ultimate middle distance triathlon bike course? We rode the French Riviera T100 bike course and it’s EPIC
Ironman gear guide – everything you need to get to the finish line of a full distance triathlon
Challenge St. Pölten 2024 - image credit Jose Luis Hourcade / Challenge Family
Expert swim coach on the three most common swim mistakes age group triathletes make (and how to fix them!)
latest News
Lionel Sanders wins 70.3 St George 2025 photo credit Getty Images for IRONMAN
Triathlon superstar Lionel Sanders says he went to a “dark place” to fuel his latest IRONMAN win
The PTO's CEO Sam Renouf
PTO reveal ambitions of matching Roth and Kona as French Riviera T100 triathlon course details unveiled
Sam Long St George 2024 photo credit Getty Images for IRONMAN
‘No No No’ – Sam Long says he felt ROBBED by swim cancellation at ‘69.1 Chattanooga’
IRONMAN World Championship 2024 Nice Age Group Swim Start
IRONMAN to review World Championship slot allocation model after fears raised for Age Group women
Jonny Brownlee / Jonathan Brownlee - Super League Triathlon London 2023
Did the Brownlee brothers nearly join pro cycling’s Team Sky after 2012 Olympic heroics?
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

Share to...